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The Los Angeles Lakers' backs are up against the wall in their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers trail the series, 3-1, heading back to Los Angeles. Despite scoring a team-high 38 points, Luka Doncic has once again found himself in the crosshairs.
Following their 116-113 loss in Game 4 in Minnesota, basketball insider Zach Lowe took Doncic to task for his lack of defense.
“Why do you have to get humiliated at the beginning of every playoff series before you show the world you can actually put a little more effort on defense,” Lowe said.
He was far from done, though.
Zach Lowe on Luka's defense: ''Why do you have to get humiliated at the beginning of every single playoff series before you show the world that you can actually put a little bit more effort on defense. We're 4 games into this series and he's just helpless.''
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“If you go back and watch Games 1 and 2 of that Phoenix series (2024), he is so bad defensively that it is laughable. And then all of a sudden, he becomes passable. Yet again, here we are. We are four games into this series, and he's just helpless.
“I'm just tired of like, I'm just going to be embarrassed until our backs are against the wall, and then I am going to show you, yeah, I can put up a little bit of a fight.”
Doncic had a great game on the offensive end on Sunday. He led his team with 38 points on 13-for-28 shooting but was beaten time and again on the other end of the floor. Whether it was Anthony Edwards blowing past him or Jaden McDaniels' back cuts, Doncic's effort on defense was visibly missing.
This is not a new notion for the All-Star guard. The Dallas Mavericks made the shocking decision to trade Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. Rumors surfaced that Doncic's lack of conditioning and effort defensively were key reasons for the move.
Lowe went to far as to call the move “crazy.”
“I wouldn't have done the trade. Almost no one in the NBA would have done specifically this trade… the idea of getting out ahead of this is not a crazy idea. The idea of doing it without shopping him to get nine first-round draft picks and swaps… is where the logic falls apart.
“I still think it is a crazy trade.”
Davis' calling card is on the defensive end. That rim protection he provided helped the Lakers capture an NBA Championship a couple of seasons ago. Los Angeles now has zero rim protection, nor can they rebound the basketball.
The Timberwolves pulled down 18 offensive rebounds in Sunday's win. That obviously does not fall squarely on Doncic. The Lakers have zero depth, so much so that head coach JJ Redick decided to play the same five players all 24 minutes of the second half.
Doncic, alongside LeBron James and others, appeared to wear down as the fourth quarter played out. But Lowe's criticism speaks more to the lack of effort that Luka Doncic has come to be known for.
